


Defining Normal

by NateC7



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, Asexual Character, Asexual Perry, Emotional Abuse, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Mentions of past abuse, Misgendering, Multi, Tiny Gay Laura Hollis, broody gay carmilla, one sided hollence, only for a short time
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-19
Updated: 2015-10-02
Packaged: 2018-04-21 10:48:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4826240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NateC7/pseuds/NateC7
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carmilla escaped her abusive mother to live with her sister. </p><p>LaFontaine is struggling with whether they should confess their feelings to Perry or keep them in for the sake of their friendship. </p><p>Perry is afraid of relationships due to her being asexual. </p><p>Laura has to help her single dad take care of both of them due to a deceased mother. </p><p>None of them feel like they are exactly normal, but can they achieve the normal life that they want?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Helloooo Creampuffs!
> 
> All right so this is my first stab at making a fanfic for the Carmilla fandom! I've read a lot of Carmilla fanfics and I think I have an understanding of how to write these characters. However, if I get anything wrong, too OOC or too exaggerated on an aspect of a character's personality, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. Seriously, I want to do this right. 
> 
> The mature warning is for the eventual smut and for anything else I might come up with while writing this story. There is angst for obvious reasons, but I will try to implement as much fluff as I can without making it look too unrealistic. 
> 
> As for chapter updates, I don't really have a plan for them but I'll let you know when I do. 
> 
> I think that's everything...all right, hope you guys enjoy this one! And please comment and leave kudos if you like the story. They mean a lot to me! Thank you guys for reading! <3

    There was a light thud as her feet hit the ground on the other side of the tall fence. She grabbed the bag she had thrown over the fence before going over herself. She walked a few feet away from the fence and turned around. The iron fence surrounded a looming manor, going all the way around the grounds until it formed a gate on the front side.

Despite being so ancient, the building still stood strong. Sure there had been a few renovations over the years, but it had always kept its original gothic design. The moonlight reflecting off the windows gave the building an eerie aura. Which was fitting, Carmilla thought bitterly. There was a certain beauty to it, a beauty that only someone like her mother could admire. She never wanted to see her mother or the house again.

    She only hoped her mother wouldn’t find out her daughter had disappeared until she was at a safe distance away from the place. It was about 1am in the morning and her mother was (hopefully) still sound asleep. Carmilla took her flashlight out of her backpack and switched it on before heading into the woods. Taking the road increased the risk of being spotted by any late night drivers. The woods were safer, and besides, Carmilla knew them like the back of her hand.

    She wove her way through the trees, finding the path she usually took in the day time. Going this way, she eventually reached a back road where a red mercedes waited for her. The head lights glowed softly in the darkness and Carmilla walked closer to the light. She could hear the engine purring which let her know her sister was still there. She waved at her sister’s figure inside letting her know that she had arrived. She walked around to the passenger side, opening the door and tossing her bag into the back seat. Then she got into the front and smiled gratefully at her sister.

    “Thanks Mattie,” she said sincerely.

    “Think nothing of it,” Mattie assured her. “Shall we get out of here?”

    “God, yes,” said Carmilla, relief apparent in her voice.

    Mattie smiled and pressed her foot against the gas. The car finally began moving and Carmilla took the opportunity rest her head against the seat. Mattie gave her a moment of silence so she could relax.

        Carmilla had been hoping that when she turned 18, her mother would let her leave the house. At 18, she was considered an adult and didn’t really need to live with her mother anymore. Earlier that day, she had announced to her mother that she was going to leave. She planned to move closer to civilization, as in an actual town. Not in a house in the middle of the wilds of Styria. Her mother had a complete breakdown, complaining that Carmilla didn’t care about her and was just leaving her to die. She had been sent to her room and locked in. This was this kind of emotional abuse that Carmilla hated the most.

    She had called Mattie up and told her they would have to meet at a later time, like in the middle of the night. Her sister was very supportive and agreed to wait for her out on the back road. So Carmilla had packed her bags and waited until she was 110% sure her mother was fast asleep. Then she had climbed out her window and escaped into the night.

    Mattie glanced over at her sister and asked, “Did mother give you any more trouble after locking you in?” Then her expression became one of concern as she thought of something. “Have you eaten?”

    Carmilla shook her head. She was actually pretty hungry. Her mother usually starved her as punishment for when she pissed her off. A midnight snack wouldn’t hurt.

    “All right, we’ll go see what places are open. I would really rather not resort to fast food…” Mattie made a face at the thought of the greasy fatty foods those places provided.

    Carmilla snorted a bit at her sister. She was always so much more sophisticated in a way that she only preferred the finer things in life. Fast food chains were beneath her. Honestly she had been hoping Mattie would make an excuse for her, but then again Mattie probably knew more good places to eat than she did. Carmilla had never had much opportunity to go out for food on her own. Only when Mattie was there to take her out. Good food was better than shitty food, right?

    She turned her attention to the passing darkness outside of the car. The darkness comforted her, and no, not in a creepy gothic kind of way. It was more like the tranquil stillness helped her mind clear of all the terrible things her mother had done to her. It was the nothingness that the darkness possessed that allowed Carmilla to forget all her troubles, even if only for a short period of time. She could pretend that she was like the darkness, pure and without fault.

   

~

    Miles and miles away in another town in another part of Styria, a young girl was enjoying a sleepover with her two best friends. Sure Laura Hollis was 19 and about to attend Silas University, a four year college, but she still held a belief that she was not too old to have a slumber party. Besides, it was the last weekend before college started for all of them. They wanted to have one last fun time for the summer before getting back into the routine of school. LaFontaine couldn’t help but agree with her, and of course they dragged Perry along with them. Perry agreed but only because she wanted to make sure they went to bed at a decent hour. Though LaFontaine had tricked her into staying up past midnight, which Perry thought was the latest that could be considered decent.

    How had LaFontaine done it? Chess. They knew very well that Perry was a fan of chess and Perry knew that they were using it to their advantage. So now they were in the middle of an intense game of chess while Laura provided snacks and amusing commentary. Occasionally Laura would get too bored and the three of them would take a quick break to do another activity in the book she had bought specifically for that occasion. It was a guide to slumber parties, which both LaFontaine and Perry found hilarious. Still it was useful for when they were running out of their own ideas.

    LaFontaine had the goofiest grin on their face. They could see the fatigue in Perry’s eyes which meant she was making more mistakes and they could use that to their advantage. Perry grumbled and moved one of her last pieces precariously across the board. LaFontaine sighed because they weren’t sure if Perry had moved the king on purpose or accidentally due to exhaustion. They made the winning move and Laura suddenly shouted a congratulations to them.

    Being so late at night, Laura’s voice was a little too loud and Perry winced visibly. She shushed Laura and the other girl apologized immediately. A yawn escaped LaFontaine’s lips, causing them to blush a little.

    “I guess we should get to sleep,” Perry said, looking a little hopeful.

    That got a long groan from Laura, but at least she took care to not be so loud that time. “Can we at least watch a movie? We haven’t done that yet since we wanted to save it for last,” she asked.

She made puppy dog eyes at both LaFontaine and Perry. Both of them sighed, for neither of them could resist when Laura made that face.

“All right, but let’s at least get comfy before we play the movie,” said Perry reasonably.

“Okay!” Laura grinned and got up. “I’ll go make popcorn!”

“Laura wait, it’s-ugh…”

LaFontaine had tried to say it was a little late at night for popcorn. However Laura had already rushed out of the room before they could say anything. They looked at Perry who was already packing up the chess game.

“I’ll get a movie out for us,” they said.

They made sure to pick out a somewhat boring movie that would put them to sleep but still satisfy the movie watching part of the sleepover for them. Perry and LaFontaine settled into the couch, wrapped up in blankets. LaFontaine had the remote in their hand, ready to press play when Laura returned.

Laura came back a few minutes later with a rather larger bowl of popcorn than necessary. She plopped down next to Perry and settled in, putting her feet up on the coffee table. She nodded to LaFontaine to start the movie and they pressed play. To their bemusement, once the movie got past the opening credits (which was an annoyingly long five minutes) Laura was fast asleep. The bowl of popcorn was balanced dangerously on her knees and Perry grabbed it before it fell to the floor. She carefully set it on the coffee table and leaned back in her seat.

“Want to keep watching?” Perry asked LaFontaine, looking over Laura’s head since the girl was sat between them.

  LaFontaine nodded and explained, “It’ll make her think we watched the whole thing. Then she won’t make us watch it again in the morning.”

  Perry nodded in understanding. “Good point.”

 They returned their attention to the screen, trying to make an effort to pay attention. However the first scene was a long and boring narrative which made Perry wonder why LaFontaine had even picked out this movie. Oh well, at least it had gotten Laura to go to sleep. LaFontaine seemed to be drifting off as well. Perry quietly got up and went to turn off the light. She considered turning off the TV, but found that the movie would probably help her fall asleep too. She was already very tired. She sat back down on the couch, falling asleep to the soft glow of the television screen.

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! I just want to say a few things here. 
> 
> One is, I still don't have a plan for chapter updates yet, but I will say that they shouldn't take any longer than two weeks. 
> 
> Two, Laura and Carmilla won't meet until probably chapter 4 or 5. I'm still kind of introducing the characters more and also practicing writing them before I do shippy interactions. 
> 
> Last but not least, I love comments and feedback! I do, so please comment if you want or at least leave Kudos or something! 
> 
> I hope you guys like this chapter! Enjoy :D
> 
> EDIT: I plan on continuing this. Chapter has been updated since Papa Hollis now has a canon name and appearance

They reached Mattie’s place in the city. It was close to Silas University since Mattie was on the school board. It was about mid morning and Carmilla had fallen asleep around sunrise. Mattie considered letting her sister sleep a little longer in her car, but no because that would be too cruel. She nudged Carmilla awake. 

A soft groan was heard and Carmilla muttered something under her breath. She had forgotten temporarily where she was and it took a moment for her to get her memory back. Then she remembered and straightened up in her seat. She stretched a little and looked towards Mattie. 

“Mm...morning,” she mumbled sleepily. 

“Come on sis, at least get in the house,” said Mattie. 

She had parked her car and was ready to get out. 

Carmilla nodded and they simultaneously got out of the car. She grabbed her bag and followed her sister into the house. 

“I have a few spare rooms,” Mattie told her. “Pick whichever one you like.” 

Carmilla nodded her thanks and went to find one. She picked a room that had a window giving her a view of the street in front of the building. It was a nice few and there was a place for her to sit so she could people watch if she wanted. Or stargaze. There was a clear view of the sky from the window. 

She unpacked her stuff and made a mental note to go shopping later. She hadn’t been able to fit everything in there. Luckily her sister had plenty of money to fill up her wardrobe. Then she planned to get into Silas University. She wanted to get an education like she should have gotten when she was living with her mother. With mother, she was homeschooled. While she had learned much from her mother, it wasn’t really a lot of stuff she was actually interested in. 

Since Mattie was with the school board, it shouldn’t be too hard for Carmilla to get into Silas. Then she could make an attempt to get the normal life she had always wanted. While she wouldn’t have some of the qualifications to take certain classes, Mattie had a way of wrapping people around her finger to do her bidding. Her sister could easily convince the board members to accept Carmilla. 

Carmilla plopped down on the bed, wanting to sleep a little more. She was surprised at how comfy the bed was. It was definitely going to be harder getting up in the mornings now. And there wouldn’t be any punishment for not getting up on time, or at least she hoped not. 

She ended up drifting off to sleep. She was later woken up by Mattie who informed her they were going on a shopping trip. Carmilla immediately sat up in her bed, pleased by the idea. She wanted more clothes, and better ones than the lousy things her mother made her wear. There was also another request, which she knew she could safely ask Mattie about. 

“Mind if we go to the local library or bookstore while we’re out?” she asked. “I’m gonna need books for when you’re not around.” 

“Of course darling, whatever you need,”  said Mattie. 

Carmilla grinned and made another note to repay her sister for everything she was doing. Mattie was the one family member she was closest to. There was Will, but he had moved away on his own to go to a military school. Thankfully Mattie was still around to comfort her in Will’s absence. They always had a lot of fun together too, going out and seeing the world and other adventures. Mattie wasn’t just her sister, she was also Carmilla’s best friend. 

Carmilla made sure she didn’t have too much of a bed head before leaving the house with Mattie. As she stepped outside, she took a moment to enjoy her freedom. This wasn’t an outing with Mattie that would end in a bitter goodbye and her returning to a place she was forced to stay in. After this outing, she would be going back to their home, an actual home. 

A loud horn pulled Carmilla out of her thoughts. Mattie was already in the car. She quickly walked down the front steps and got into the passenger seat. 

“Sorry, got distracted for a moment,” she apologized. 

Mattie just chuckled and started the car. “I understand, sis. You have a lot to get used to.” 

Carmilla nodded in agreement before looking out at the city as they drove through its streets. She made sure to memorize the route they took, taking note of buildings with more noticeable signs. She could see people walking in different directions and to different destinations. Other cars passed by on the way, occasionally honking at each other for one reason or another. A small smile formed on her lips at all the sights and sounds.  It wasn’t that she had never seen the city before, it was the fact that she would finally be able to start calling it  home . 

 

~

Perry was the first to wake up. She was laying against the armrest on her side of the couch. She could feel a weight on her legs, and when she looked saw Laura sleeping peacefully. LaFontaine had actually rolled off the couch and was sound asleep on the floor. They were each covered in a blanket which Perry guessed had been provided by Laura’s dad. She needed to thank him. 

Perry carefully removed her legs from underneath Laura’s head and replaced them with a pillow. Laura let out a snore and Perry chuckled in amusement at her friend. Then she got up and headed to the kitchen. There she found Mr. Hollis brewing a cup of coffee. 

“Good morning, Mr. Hollis,” Perry said politely, greeting him. 

Mr. Hollis turned around, not having heard her come into the room. He was a little more on the short side but very gangly and had kind, brown eyes. Perry could see where Laura got her height from. The man gave her a smile and waved, holding his mug of coffee in one hand. 

“Good morning Perry. Though I’ve told you that you can call me Sherman. It’s fine, really,” he assured her. 

“I just feel better calling you Mr. Hollis for some reason…” Perry explained. “Do you have anything to make pancakes with? I wanted to cook everyone breakfast.” 

“I do, in fact,” Sherman replied with a nod. “There’s chocolate chips too if you want to add that into the mix.” 

Perry beamed happily at him. “I will do that!” she said brightly. 

Despite Perry’s protests of not wanting help, Sherman insisted that he at least show her where everything was. Perry accepted that and got started on making pancakes. She also got two other pans out to make eggs and bacon with. Sherman went into the TV room to wake up his daughter and LaFontaine. 

Perry was a master in the kitchen. She knew what kind of eggs Laura and LaFontaine preferred and cooked the bacon to being somewhat crunchy for LaFontaine but chewy enough for Laura. She cooked extra for Sherman and went ahead and set the table. Eventually everyone came pouring into the dining room and they were all finally seated at the table. 

“Wow Perr, this looks good,” LaFontaine complimented their friend. Their eyes were as wide as dinner plates, which made Perry giggle a little. 

“I hope you like them. I made your bacon the way you like it too.” 

“Thanks Perry, I really appreciate this!” Laura chirped. “I need to make you another batch of cookies.”

“Mm...it is nice having a break from cooking breakfast,” said Sherman. Then jokingly he added, “And not having the kitchen almost burn down for once.”

“Dad! That was  one time !” Laura protested. Her cheeks flared red in embarrassment. 

There was a collective chuckle around the table. Laura just mumbled something under her breath and started eating more of her pancake. LaFontaine was already done with her bacon and was halfway through her pancakes. Perry sighed in frustration and shook her head at LaFontaine. They always had a habit of eating too fast. 

“LaFontaine, please slow down or you’re going to choke,” Perry scolded them. 

LaFontaine made a show of slowly chewing their food and Perry rolled her eyes. Laura just smiled at the two of her best friends. The two of them carried on their playful banter and Laura’s attention was drawn to her dad. 

“Looking forward to school starting again, sweetie?” Sherman asked his daughter. 

“Heck yeah!” Laura grinned like the little dork she was. “It’s my first year at college. I’ll get to live in a dorm and have a roommate and everything!” 

Noticing the glimmer of sadness in her dad’s eyes she quickly added, “Of course I’ll call and email you every day. Don’t worry, dad.” 

“I know you will,” said Sherman softly. “You remind me so much of your mother sometimes.”

That statement was heard by Perry and LaFontaine and they stopped their banter to look at the father-daughter pair sympathetically. They both knew Laura missed her mom very much and there were many things she had gotten from her mother. Two of them was a sweet tooth and a passion for the things she cared about. 

The silence was noted and Laura swallowed hard. She understood what her dad was saying, but with friends around it felt a little awkward. She didn’t like talking about sad things around her friends because then it made them sad. And in turn it made her feel bad. Sherman seemed to pick up on this and change the subject. 

“So LaFontaine, Perry, have you two decided what your majors will be? I’m just curious.”

LaFontaine answered immediately, since they had actually decided what their major would be in Elementary school. “biology, that’s for sure.’’ 

“Mine is going to be psychology,” Perry answered as well. “Though I’m specifically interested in child psychology.” 

LaFontaine smiled knowingly at Perry. The reason for Perry’s interest in psychology was because she wanted to better understand herself. Perry had OCD, and she had developed it when she was very young. It had taken control over her life pretty badly for some time. After therapy which lasted throughout all of middle school and ended in their sophomore year of high school, she was considerably better at controlling her OCD tendencies. 

“And mine is journalism!” Laura chimed in. “But you guys already knew that.” 

She saw a slight frown appearing on her dad’s face and sighed. “Journalism can pay pretty well in some areas dad, really. I’ve already decided that journalism is what I want to do.” 

“I know you do, Laura, and that’s what worries me. But I also know that I can’t really stop you from studying what you want to study. I just want you to know that you won’t make as much with journalism as you can with biology or psychology.”

The topic had again gone back to a personal family matter. Sherman hadn’t realized that. Perry looked around and saw that mostly everyone’s plates were empty. She took the chance to stand up and announce that she would start cleaning up. LaFontaine immediately got up to help and Laura, seeing opportunity, joined them. She apologized quickly to her dad who just nodded briefly. 

 

Sherman sighed at the three of them leaving the table to clean up the kitchen. His daughter had found another way out of the conversation. They had been trying to have the conversation for a couple years now. He wanted his daughter to be successful. He just wasn’t sure journalism was the best option for her. He did want Laura to be able to learn and grow, so maybe it was for the best that he let Laura try journalism and experiences its challenges for herself. 

 


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> LaFontaine and Carmilla meet. A new character is introduced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! Another update, and in the promised time frame too. I'm actually quite impressed with myself. I'm starting to feel like this might be too run of the mill though. Please let me know if it is because I want to make it more original some how. I'm not sure yet, really. 
> 
> Also please let me know how I'm doing with characterization. Really, I would appreciate that. 
> 
> Hope you guys like this chapter!

The week after the slumber party was spent moving into the apartment Perry had gotten for the three of them. It was located just off campus and between the three of them, rent was payable. The apartment had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a lounge. It was a pretty good choice for the three of them. LaFontaine had been disappointed to learn that there was no basement. They had wanted a room to do experiments in.

    Perry told LaFontaine that if they wanted to do experiments, then they should have the bedroom located on the ground floor. That way there wouldn’t be a risk of a crumbling ceiling. LaFontaine was happy with that and they also made a promise not to conduct any lethal experiments in the apartment. Those could be done somewhere else, which they would figure out later.

    On the weekend before classes officially started, they were all mostly moved into the apartment. Perry and Laura had set out to do grocery shopping, along with getting a few other personal things. LaFontaine was left at the house, but they decided to go out and look around the area. More specifically, they wanted to look for the nearest coffeeshop.

    There were a couple reasons why LaFontaine was doing this. One was in the event that they ran out of coffee and Perry would probably have a meltdown for not having her morning coffee. Due to Perry’s OCD, she had a routine in the morning and would flip out if anything was out of order. The other reason was for Laura. She would want a place to hang out and be able to relax a little.

    LaFontaine set off down the street from where their apartment was. They went a block and a half before finally spotting a cafe. It sat on a little corner that was on the same street as Silas. There was a sign that read Sheridan’s Cafe. They headed across the street to the side where the shop was and went to the entrance.

It looked like the shop had just opened up for the day, so it made sense that there weren’t many people inside. There were one or two others, sitting at their own tables in the shop. LaFontaine saw a dark haired girl behind the counter. She seemed a bit tired, as anyone would in the morning. As soon as the girl spotted them, she put on a smile in a way that seemed very rehearsed.

“Hey, welcome to Sheridan’s Cafe. How may I help you?” the girl asked them.

LaFontaine wondered if she was new on the job. There was a slight nervousness about her. So they gave her their best reassuring smile as they approached the counter.

“Hey,” LaFontaine started before looking quickly at the menu. She found what looked good and returned her attention to the girl, “I’ll have a caramel mocha, please?”

“Sure. I’ll be right with you,” she said.

LaFontaine managed to see her nametag in time to learn her name was Carmilla. They watched curiously as Carmilla hurried to make their drink. Yep, definitely new. LaFontaine could barely hear her muttering to herself and looking at stuff carefully before using it.

“I’m guessing you’re new,” they commented when Carmilla came back with their drink.

Carmilla gave them a wry smile. “How’d you guess?”

LaFontaine shrugged. “You seem tense. Just a little though.”

Carmilla nodded in understanding. “I just got the job a few days ago,” she explained. “It pays all right. I just want to make some of my own money so it’s a start.”

LaFontaine gave her a nod and took a drink of the mocha. The coffee was good which meant this was a definite choice for their friends. She studied Carmilla for another moment. The girl looked like she might go to Silas as well.

“Do you go to Silas?” LaFontaine asked. They hoped they weren’t being too nosy, but if this was going to be their hangout spot for the next four years, they wanted to know the employees.

Carmilla looked a little surprised by the question but she gave a nod of affirmation. “Yeah, first year at Silas,” she replied. “You?”

“Same,” said LaFontaine with a grin. “I’m LaFontaine. That’s my last name, just so you know. I go by they/their pronouns.”

Carmilla seemed to smile a little more. “Cool. I guess I’ll be seeing you around more then?”

“Probably,” LaFontaine said. “Though one of my roommates might be coming in more than me. I was actually looking for a coffee shop close to our apartment. This one happened to be it.”

“Well it’s not a bad choice,” said Carmilla. “Do you like the coffee?”

She gestured to the drink in LaFontaine’s hand. They took another sip and smiled. “Yeah it’s pretty good.”

    Carmilla made a relieved sigh. She seemed to relax a little too. LaFontaine decided to give a little praise to help.

    “You’re doing pretty good for someone who is new, if you ask me,” they said.

    Carmilla beamed at them. “Thanks.”

    A bell chimed signalling that more customers were coming into the shop. LaFontaine moved out of the way to let them take their orders. They gave Carmilla wave and a ‘see you later’ before walking out of the coffee shop.

 

~

    Carmilla was in a much better mood than she had been in earlier. Not that she was in a bad mood for a specific reason, that was just generally how she was in the morning. She knew she had to stuff it for when she was at work. Now however, she had actually made a new friend besides Mattie.

    LaFontaine seemed like a cool person. She only managed so well talking to them thanks to tips from Mattie. Having spent most of her life stuck inside her mother’s house, she rarely had opportunity for people contact. Mattie was really the only one that helped her be more social. She could finally connect with someone completely new.

    Carmilla got through the final hurdle of the morning. It was finally her lunch break, so she got one of her co-workers to cover for her. She had an hour so she took the opportunity to walk out of the cafe. She walked to one of the outdoor tables and sat down. Taking out her phone, she sent a text to Mattie letting her know she had made a new friend. Mattie didn’t text her back right away, but Carmilla knew it would make her sister happy to know she was making progress.

    Looking at her phone, she wondered if she should have gotten LaFontaine’s number. Then she thought that maybe it was too soon to ask. They didn’t know each other well enough yet, not really. Carmilla pocketed her phone and went back inside. She got lunch from the cafe since their sandwiches were actually quite good.

She worked a few more hours that afternoon before her shift was over. As she left the coffee shop, she considered sending a text to Mattie to ask where she was. Then she decided not to as she didn’t want to seem too dependent. She had already asked enough of her sister, really.

Carmilla continued walking, not really wanting to go home right away. Her conversation with LaFontaine had made her yearn for more company. Problem was, she didn’t know where they were now and she didn’t really know anyone else she could go talk to. Again, she reminded herself that there was Will. However, she hadn’t heard from Will in years. He probably had a different number now or something. Furthermore, he wouldn’t even know hers. Mattie had gotten her a new cell phone earlier that week and so far she was the only contact on the phone.

Carmilla sighed, thinking her phone was pretty useless at the moment. She was now passing Silas University. A few people were leaning against the wall bordering the school, smoking and talking amongst themselves. One of them caught sight of her and whistled. Carmilla rolled her eyes, thinking they were a bunch of pigs. She passed them, giving them the finger along the way.

That only got more jeering from them. She continued onward, wondering how boys that immature were even in college. Then she heard footsteps coming up behind her and spun around. She was ready to defend herself.

It was a young man with clean cut hair and brown eyes. He had a cigarette in his hand and a smile on his face. It didn’t seem mean however.

“Not interested in whatever it is you want,” Carmilla muttered.

The guy shook his head and explained, “No I just wanted to apologize. My friends are pretty stupid sometimes.”

Carmilla shrugged indifferently. “Eh, I’m not that beaten up about it, really. Thanks though.”

The guy smiled and held out a hand, “My name’s J.P Armitage. Nice to meet you.”

Carmilla looked down at his hand and stared at it. She knew she was supposed to shake it, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to take the hand of a guy whose friends had just been catcalling her. An awkward silence passed and J.P lowered his hand.

“Okay...sorry for bothering you, again,” he apologized.

Carmilla studied him for a minute. Then she said, “I’ll forgive you if you let me have a cigarette.”

J.P blinked for a moment, then laughed. “All right. I can do that.”

He took out a box from his pocket and pulled out a cigarette. He handed it over to Carmilla along with a lighter. Curious, she lit the cigarette and brought it to her lips. She took a deep breath, inhaling the smoke. It immediately made her start coughing. She held the cigarette out away from her as she coughed for a few seconds.

“First ever cigarette?” J.P asked.

Carmilla nodded. She dropped the cigarette and stepped on it like she had seen the other guys do. “Sorry, I’m not sure it’s for me.”

J.P gave her an assuring smile. “No worries. So what’s your name? I can have that, right?”

Carmilla chuckled a bit. “All right, my name’s Carmilla.”

“Carmilla,” J.P repeated. “I will remember that. You go to Silas?”

Carmilla nodded, thinking it would be okay to share that with him. He seemed nice enough anyway. “I moved here recently. So I’ll be enrolling as a Freshman,” she explained.

“That sounds cool. I’m already in my 2nd year though,” J.P. stated. “I guess we won’t be sharing any classes, but it’s nice to have a friend outside of them, you know?”

Carmilla could agree with that. “Yeah, it is actually.”

She smiled and J.P. smiled back. Then he looked back at his friends and said, “I should probably go back over there before they start teasing me.”

Carmilla grinned and said, “If they do, let me know and I’ll give them a lesson.”

J.P’s eyes widened in surprise. “I’ll uh...I’ll remember that,” he said.

 Carmilla snickered a little. J.P. turned and went back to join his friends. He was an alright guy, Carmilla thought to herself. That was another friend she had made, and in the same day as the first.

 


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura and Carmilla finally meet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I'm really disappointed that I haven't gotten many comments on this story. I would appreciate if people would give me feedback and tell me what you guys think of this story. Please? Just one little comment is all I want. I really would appreciate it. 
> 
> Here's chapter 4.

     Despite her first class not starting until 10, Laura still managed to get up in the wee hours of the morning. She was one of those people who picked out their outfit for the first day of school the night before and had their bag already packed. She was already fully dressed and in the kitchen by 8:30am. She was used to being ready by that time anyway.

    Perry was the second one to come into the kitchen. Laura sat at the table eating a bowl of cereal while looking at her phone screen. Perry guessed she was on tumblr. Laura looked up at her friend and grinned. Perry would never understand how the girl could be so chipper this early in the morning. She gave Laura a small smile before going to make some coffee.

    Perry had her usual breakfast consisting of eggs and toast. When she was done, she made sure that her dishes were rinsed off completely before putting them in the dishwasher. Seeing that the dishwasher was full, she thought it was time to run it. First however, she went over every dish in the dishwasher, making sure each one was completely spotless. Once all the dishes had her approval, she closed the door and started up the dishwasher. Even though they were already technically clean, Perry was still paranoid about germs. Which is why she had them washed twice; first by hand, and then by the dishwasher.

    Laura announced that she was leaving. Perry looked at the clock on the wall which read 9:13am. There was still a lot of time before Laura’s class started.

    “Take your time Laura, unless you plan on being very early,” she advised her friend.

    Laura grinned sheepishly. She couldn’t help it. She liked being early to class, which she had started doing since the sixth grade.

    “I know, I know, but it’ll be fine!” Laura assured Perry. “I might stop by the Caf on the way.”

    Perry smiled and nodded. “All right. Have fun!”

    Laura gave her a wave and excitedly skipped out the door. She headed in the general direction of Silas University. Seeing the Sheridan cafe nearby, her curiosity won over and she walked towards the shop. LaFontaine had said it was a nice cafe and the employees were nice. Laura hoped they were right about that.

    She heard a bell chime above her head as she entered the cafe. Smells of spices wafted over her and she smiled a little. She liked what she was seeing so far. Laura went to the counter, stopping behind a couple who was already in line. She could see a dark haired girl tending to the people in front of her. She glanced at the nametag on the girl’s shirt, seeing it read Carmilla. She remembered LaFontaine had mentioned her.

    The couple left the counter and she stepped forward. “Hi!” she greeted Carmilla, smiling as well.

    Carmilla returned the smile, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “What can I do for you?” she asked in an almost tired sounding voice.

    Laura looked up at the menu to see what drinks they offered. She settled for the hot cocoa, since she was always a sucker for that. She looked back to Carmilla and a long moment of silence passed. Carmilla gave her a bemused smile.

    “You okay there, cutie?”

    A pink tinge colored her cheeks and Carmilla had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing. Laura spoke her order out loud after giving a quick apology.

    “Sorry, I spaced out for a minute and I guess I thought I had ordered when I had decided on the cocoa. I hope that didn’t weird you out too much. I do space out sometimes. I’m really sorry about that.”

    “Don’t worry about it. I’ll get it for you right now,” said Carmilla, stopping Laura before she said anymore.

    Laura nodded, purposefully pressing her lips together so she didn’t say any other stupid things. She chided herself mentally. If she wanted to come here again, then she didn’t need to make the first impression that she was a complete weirdo. She watched Carmilla get her hot cocoa. The girl looked young enough to be a student, and Laura wondered if she actually was.

    Carmilla came back with her hot cocoa and Laura got out her wallet to pay. She wanted to ask the barista if she attended Silas, but she could see a queue forming behind her. She didn’t want to hold anyone up. She payed and thanked Carmilla for her drink before leaving the line.

    Laura checked the time on her cellphone. It was only about 9:35. She was still going to be a little early. Honestly though? She didn’t care if she was. Laura continued onto Silas and went to the building where her class would be. Upon reaching the classroom, she could see she wasn’t the only student to arrive as early as she did.

    In the classroom stood two people. One woman who looked to be in her middle ages. Talking to her was a redhead that was even taller than the woman. The two of them looked at Laura as she entered the classroom. She looked back at the two of them and gave a wave.

    “Am I too early?” she asked them.

    “Not at all,” The middle-aged woman spoke. “Sit down if you’d like. I’m Mrs. Lakeman.”

    The redhead smiled at Laura and introduced herself as well. “I’m Danny Lawrence. I’m the TA for this class.”

    “Oh, cool!” Laura said, taking the hand Danny had extended. Withdrawing it she said, “I’m Laura. Laura Hollis.”

    “Hollis, I’ll be sure to remember that,” said Danny with a grin. “And I’ll be honest, I don’t know many people who come to class this early. Even on the first day.”

    Laura blushed a little in embarrassment. “I just liked school,” she explained. “Learning, doing class discussions, I enjoy all of that stuff.”

    “That’s not a bad thing though,” said Danny. “Are you a freshman?”

    Laura nodded and Danny continued, “Well I hope you like it here. If it interests you, I’m part of the track team and the Silas Summer Society. If you want to join either of those, come talk to me.”  
    “Oh, okay. I’m not really very athletic though,” said Laura. “I might look into the Summer Society. It’ll be a way to make more friends.”

    Danny grinned at that. “That’d be cool!”

    Laura continued to talk a little more with Danny until class finally started. After class, Danny told her to come to the Student Life office when she had time. There she could sign up for Summer Society or any other clubs she might be interested in. Laura made note of that and thanked her before walking out of the classroom. Her next class was at 2am, so she had a couple hours to kill.

    She decided to visit the campus Library. That was one location she would definitely want to remember for the next four years. She loved libraries, after all. It was the smell of used books that drew her in. Well it was more that they were books than that they were used, but either way they were awesome.

    Her phone buzzed and she pulled it out of her pocket. She saw she had a text from LaFontaine. Opening up her messenger app, she clicked on her conversation with LaFontaine.

    The text read, ‘I found the library! This place is huge. Not kidding!’

    That definitely got Laura more excited about seeing the library. She pulled out a map of the school she had gotten the day before. After determining where she was, she made her way to the library.

    She reached the library building and raised a brow. It looked like it was only two floors tall. However, when she entered the library, she saw that it stretched back a long way. It made her think of the Doctor’s TARDIS with its trans-dimensional technology. LaFontaine was right, this place was huge.

    Laura texted her thoughts to LaFontaine. Then she returned her phone to its pocket before going to explore the library. She just hoped she wouldn’t get too lost.

 

~

    Carmilla’s shift ended at noon, since she had classes that afternoon. She was a little nervous about going to a public school. She wasn’t sure how she would even fit in. She didn’t even know how public schools were supposed to work. All she had was directions from Mattie, a class schedule, and her required textbooks.

    She changed into regular clothes in the bathroom. She didn’t want to go to school looking like she had come straight from work, even though she did. She wanted to look casual. Her idea of casual was different from the cafe uniform. She wore leather pants and a gray t-shirt. Over it was a jacket and she wore a pair of boots on her feet.

    She went to the library on campus first. She had a little bit of time and wanted to familiarize herself with the place she would be visiting very often. Libraries were nice because they were quiet and she was least likely to be bothered by anyone there. Mattie had told her so since her sister knew she would want to have easy access to a large variety of books.

    She had visited the library once earlier in the week, but that was only so she could get a library card. She hadn’t had time to do any exploring then. Now however, she was starting to wonder if she should explore at another time. The library was huge, and Carmilla had a feeling that she could easily get lost in there. She didn’t want to get lost and end up being late for class. The last thing she wanted was to have tardiness added to her list of abnormalities.

    There were a few sections she could take a quick look around, however. As long as she stayed on the first floor, it should be fine. Walking further into the library, she took notice of each section that she passed. A few caught her interest like ‘world mysteries’ and the section on philosophy.

She walked into an aisle, seeing it occupied by someone. The girl had her back turned to Carmilla, but when hearing her approach, turned around. Carmilla recognized the girl who had come into her shop earlier that morning. The one she had called cutie. She had meant that, and it was still true. The girl had big chocolate brown eyes and a smile that Carmilla couldn’t help but find adorable.

“Oh, hey!” The girl spoke to her. “You’re the one who was working at the cafe this morning, right?”

Carmilla nodded. “Yep. You got a hot cocoa and rambled a little bit.”

Laura blushed as she remembered that moment. “Right...sorry again. I’m surprised to see you here though. I didn’t know you came here?”

“It’s my first year,” Carmilla explained. “And don’t worry too much about it. Seriously.”

    Laura had to stop herself before she apologized again. Then she said, “It’s my first year as well. I was actually in here earlier today but I had to leave because of class. I couldn’t wait to get back here. It’s just so big and there’s so much to see in here.”

    Carmilla laughed and gave the girl a rare smile that did in fact reach her eyes. “What’s your name, cutie?”

    “Laura Hollis,” she introduced herself.

    “Laura. I’m Carmilla,” she said. She felt like she should say more, but she wasn’t sure what.

    Thankfully, Laura answered that for her. “So what are you studying?” she asked, genuinely curious.

    “Um, I want to do a philosophy major,” Carmilla replied. “It sounds like fun, contemplating our place in the universe and how small we seem in comparison to its vastness.”

    Carmilla wasn’t sure if Laura would understand that. But the girl seemed to be actually interested. “That does sound fun. I’m doing a journalism major. My dad said it won’t get me much money but I’d rather do something I love than something I don’t just to make money.”

    “That’s good thinking,” Carmilla agreed. “Philosophy probably won’t get me very far either. Then again, it’s something I’m actually interested in.”

    Laura grinned, looking like she was victorious. “I’m going to tell my dad you’re studying philosophy so I can make  my point! Um...if that’s okay?”

    “That’s fine,” said Carmilla, smiling gently.

    Then Laura asked, “So what do your parents think of you studying philosophy?”

    Carmilla’s smile faded and she couldn’t meet Laura’s eyes. “Um...well my dad’s gone and my mom...she doesn’t really care.”

    It wasn’t a complete lie. Her dad really was gone and her mom, well she wouldn’t care about anything Carmilla was interested in. She never had.

    Laura seemed to get the hint and nodded. “Sorry, sore subject?”

    “Yeah…” said Carmilla, feeling a little awkward. Was she about to get pity from this girl? She definitely didn’t want that. However, Laura moved on to a new subject.

    “When’s your next class? I’m assuming you only worked this morning because you had to come to Silas in the afternoon?” Laura asked.

    “Oh, um..” Carmilla checked her phone. She paled a little more seeing that there was only ten minutes left for her to get to class. “It’s in ten minutes…”

    She gave Laura an apologetic smile. “I should get going. It was nice meeting you cupcake,” she said giving the girl a wink.

    Laura reddened a little at that but said, “It’s Laura. And all right. I hope I see you later!”

  “Yeah, me too,” said Carmilla before giving one final wave and hurrying away to get to class.


End file.
